Douglas Barry is the 2019 CAMS Australian Supersprint Champion after posting the fastest lap time during the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit event.
Behind the wheel of the Lola T8750-F3000, Barry was the fastest out of more than 120 drivers who had made their way from around the country to compete in the annual event.
Despite beating the outright lap time record at Phillip Island, Barry found himself locked in a tight battle with Queenslander Dean Tighe as the duo traded fastest times across the weekend.
While both drivers were the only ones to break the one minute and 25 second barrier, it was Barry whose sensational lap sealed the deal and saw him take out the title by just seven tenths.
For Barry, it was a long time coming and a victory he believed was one of the most special in his career.
“It feels fantastic. I am ecstatic. I have been chasing a title for 10 years now, but I have never got top spot,” Barry said.
“I struck car troubles in last year’s national Supersprint and came close in the years before, but having won the CAMS New South Wales Supersprint this year, I believed this year was my year because I felt like I had a rocket ship.
“It’s an awesome track. When you come from Central New South Wales you have the dream to race there one day, but as the years tick by, you start to realise that it’s going to be difficult, but to get there this year when the ideal opportunity came up and to win there makes it even more special.
“It was a great battle with Dean Tighe, I had to go under the lap record to do it. But it was awesome. I think I will be back next year to defend it.”
The front two were on a different level compared to the rest of the field, as Richard Perini guided his Ginetta G55 to third place with a lap time around six seconds slower than Tighe.
A further four seconds slower was the battle for fourth and a much closer one for that matter as Dallara pilot Cosi Sorgiovanni finished just two tenths faster than John Williamson in a Lamborghini.
Only two other drivers managed to finish within the one minute and 40 second mark and just two tenths separated Peter Nowlan in the NRC Bullet and Holden Commodore driver Allen Nash for sixth place.
Rounding out the top 10 were Andrew McInnes, James Crichton and Jason Dorrington.